Anima
by Corianna4
Summary: Rose Kindle has a future in front of her that she never expected.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I'm Rosalina Kindle; Rose for short. I'm 17 years old and I live in a foster home. It's old and creaky, pretty ghetto if you ask me. I have a pretty boring and normal life. I've lived in a foster home ever since I was 4. My parents left me here...and I don't know why. On a more positive note, I love animals! They have been my friends when no one else has. I'm generally un-fit. I have extremely low stamina, almost no muscles at all, and I'm near-sighted. And that's barely any of my flaws. I'm slightly flabby, and very tall. 5'7" actually. The main reason I havent been adopted yet, is because I am so stubborn, and yet, thats the only thing that's gotten me anywhere in life. I go to a regular highschool, get bullied and rumored about, and I only have a few friends. This is why I stick with animals more than humans.  
"Rose! Get up we gotta go!", Lance yelled at my sleeping body. Lance is a fellow foster child, but he's only been here a year.  
"Alright, I'm up...", I groaned, literally rolling out of bed, and falling on my back. I quickly put on some clothes and did my hair and eyeliner before running out the door to school with half of a poptart in my mouth.  
Before the day barely began, the school bully, Lannom started taunting me.  
"Hey stem.", he said making fun of my name. I ignored him and walked off, or at least tried to.  
"Hey! I'm talkin' to you, nerd!" That just pissed me off.  
"What do you want?", I said trying to stay calm.  
"Well now you made me angry by ignoring me. Where are your manners?", he cooed, gripping his right hand into a fist. Right after I rolled my eyes in annoyance, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I collaped to the ground, holding my stomach in pain. A teacher passed by, pretending to not be paying attention. The bullies laughed and walked off.  
"God, I hate humans...", I whispered to myself.  
"What was that Ms. Kindle?" I turned to see my teacher standing beside me, looking down.  
"Nothing, Mr. Emerson.", I lied.  
"Well, maybe you can tell me about it in detention tomorrow."  
"B-but I didn't even do anything!"  
"Then obviously you didnt hear the bell for class ring." It must've rung when I groaned or fell. I facepalmed and gathered my things and headed to class. During class, I looked at the detention form Mr. Emerson gave me. That's odd. It said that it was going to be in his classroom, not the normal detention classroom. I wonder why.  
Gym class came along too quickly. I grabbed the bandages in my gym locker and wrapped up my stomach before changing into my uniform. Maybe that would help my stomach from anymore damage for one day.  
"Making a corset for your pudge?", one on the popular, stick-skinny girls said with a laugh. The other girls joined in her laugh. I slipped on my black t-shirt and headed out of the room, ignoring the annoying snickering and comments. We had to do my least favorite thing today, running laps outside. In the end, I was alone far behind the others, almost passing out from lack of oxygen, and profuse sweating. I tied my hair up in a loose ponytail and quickly headed to my english class. Luckily, I had one semi-friend in that class, Phillip. He was alot more fit than I am. He did JROTC instead of gym. Today he had to wear the uniform, which looked quite nice on him. Mrs. Anderson had an unusual person in class today. She was an older woman with faded, blonde, frizzy hair. She also had thick-rimmed glasses and old clothes. She introduced her as a fortuneteller. Phillip and I exchanged confused and disbelieving glances towards the woman. One by one, she told everyone's fortune and we had to do an essay on it by next week. Phillip's turn came. The elder woman lightly put her fingers on his head, closing her eyes to focus, or see an image of some sort in her mind.

"Ooh,", she said breaking the focused silence. "Very interesting. You will face trials in the near future, but soon after...you will be in a much harder battle. Deaths will happen around you when you can't stop it. And you will be faced with a very tough decision about someone close to you." When she finished, she removed her fingers from his head and opened her eyes again. Phillip walked back to his seat with a look on his face that showed he was pondering about what she said. The first thing that came to my mind is that he planned to join the army. A small worried shiver slid up my spine.

"Rose! It's your turn.", Mrs. Anderson called. I nervously crept out of my seat and sat in front of the fortuneteller. She mimicked the position with her fingers to my head and eyes closed as she did before. My eyes closely watched her expression go from relaxed to almost frightened or worried.

"Your future holds an event that will change your life, and not particularly for the better. I see death and regret. Happiness and pain. And a strong decision that can decide where- or rather how long your future lasts." With her last statement she looked me right in the eyes with a terrified look. "I cannot see what happens after that." Her breath quivered as her brittle arms wrapped me in a hug. I gently patted her arm and looked toward Phillip. He had an equally worried expression. That's when I realized I had an shocked face. All eyes in the class were staring at me, jaws gaping open. '_What is going to happen to me?_' I thought. The fragile woman released her grip and I quickly walked back to my seat. Phillip leaned over and rubbed my hand to try and give me some sort of comfort.


	2. Understanding and Opportunity

The paranoid thoughts flooded Rose's mind throughout the day. As fellow english classmates passed her in the hall, they gave her sympathetic looks. Philip avoided the negative subject when they chatted at lunch to try and keep his friend in high spirits. Rose did the same with Philip. She didnt even want to think about him in a war. She was the only friend she had, besides the stray animals that come near the foster home. He was the only person in the world that made her feel like she was wanted.  
"I got a detention this morning.", Rose said to break the momentary silence.  
"What did you do?", Philip said in curiousity.  
"Well, Lannom punched me so I was late for class."  
"Where'd you get hit?", he said in genuion concern.  
"Stomach, i wrapped it up in those bandages you gave me." He gave a slight sigh of relief.  
"My god, that dude is an asshole." Rose was a bit surprised have never heard Philip use profanity. She gave a slight giggle and nod in agreement.  
"So who gave you the detention?"  
"Mr. Emerson, but this is weird, look at this.", she said pulling out the slip from her pocket pointing out the room number to her friend. "Its in his room instead of the normal detention room." She felt slightly proud yet dissappointed in herself. Dissappointed because she had gone to detention enough times to know which room it's in. Proud because of her slight Sherlock Holmes skills to notice a small detail.  
"Hm, maybe they just decided to move rooms?", he said with a shrug on his shoulders. Rose also shrugged and the pair continued on with their lunch. The school day dragged on in its usual rut. When the dismissal bell rang, all the students sprinted towards the exits. Rose caught a sight of Philip and waved him a goodbye. He returned the gesture and headed towards his bus. Rose continued on walking on the sidewalk back to the foster home with Lance lagging far behind.

* * *

After arriving back at the old foster home, Lance went straight to his video games and Rose went to her room and pulled out her old notebook. She opened it up and flipped to a clean page. This is what she wrote:  
'Song of the day #42: Gone  
Dark the stars and dark the moon, hush the night and the morning loon. Tell the horses and beat on your drum, gone their master, gone their son.'  
She continued to write the song she had heard while humming it quietly.  
"Rosalina!", an old female voice yelled making her jump. " That damned cat is here again!", the woman yelled up the stairs.  
"Alright Ms. Ann!", Rose yelled back to her foster parent. She stood from her small bed and walked toward the back door. Meows came from the lean black stray cat.  
"Hey Luna!", she said calmly to the familiar cat. Luna looked up at her and meowed as a greeting. Rose stepped off the back porch to lift up an old board to show a small secret stash of canned cat food. She grabbed one of the small cans and popped it open. Luna meowed anxiously. She rested the small can on the ground as the cat went straight to it, eating away. Rose stroked Luna's silky black fur.  
"You and I are a lot alike, Luna. We both dont have a real home, dont have a lot of friends, and...dont feel wanted by anyone." Rose's dark brown eyes drooped to her feet as her long chocolate colored bangs fell on her face. Luna looked up from her eating and rubbed her face against Rose's leg and started to purr quietly. A small smile touched the girl's face.  
"You and Philip are the only ones who understand me. Thank you, Luna.", she said softly. The stray curled up in Rose's lap, purring comfortably. Rose's smile grew a little.

* * *

The alarm clock beeped annoyingly as the girl groaned. She rolled over and sleepily glared at the glowing numbers. She slapped the snooze button and rolled off her bed, falling on the floor accidentally. She quickly pushed herself off the wood floor and walked down the stairs. She lazily walked into the kitchen and grabbed her bottled green tea and began to sip it while scanning the fridge for breakfast. She spotted the plastic bag with exactly what she wanted. Rose opened the bag and grabbed two slices of cold cheese pizza. She licked her grinning lips and started to eat her meal. Lance ran down the stairs and swung the fridge door open. Rose raised an eyebrow.  
"How the hell are you so damn energetic?", she said tiredly, slightly annoyed.  
"Why the hell are you not?", he replied, trying to make a comeback.  
"Stupid freshman.", she said quietly, but not obviously enough.  
"Stupid senior.", he half whispered sticking his tongue out like a child. Rose rolled her eyes as she finished her meal. She tossed the empty bottle in the recycling and rinsed her hands before starting up the stairs. When she made it to her room she looked through her cluttered dresser to find clothes to wear. Rose settled on a black tank top with a purple v-neck t-shirt over it, black skinny jeans and gray converse. She finished her morning routines and made her way down the steps before grabbing her school bag and slipping out the door. Philip was waiting in the road. Prior, he had texted her seeing if she wanted to carpool, which she of course accepted. She slipped into the passenger seat and Philip began to drive again. They had small talk on the way to school about various subjects to keep each other interested. Rose loved spending time with Philip, he's like a brother to her. He had a mutual feeling, she was one of the only people he wanted to see everyday, his sister. He pulled into his assigned parking spot and turned off the old car. They both grabbed their bags and slid out of the vehicle. The pair made their way to the commons area to wait before their first class, along with the rest of the high school population to continue their conversations.

"I got a surprise for you.", Philip said pulling out a rectangular box. Rose tilted her head in curiosity. He opened the box to reveal a black cat-like collar with a silver bell. Rose laughed a little at the humorous gift. "Now you can sneak up on me, Kitty.", he explained using her nickname. He calls her 'Kitty' because of her love for cats. Rose picked up the collar and put it on herself, shaking her head to jingle the bell. Philip laughed a little himself.

"Thanks!", she replied cheerfully.

"It actually looks really nice on you.", he said examining the gift on his friend again.

* * *

Nothing about a school day was ever going to change. Each day seemed like a repeat. The final bell chimed and each student went their usual way, nothing changing. Rose, looked down at her bell while leaving her classroom. She scanned the hall of heads in search for her familiar one. Her eyes targeted Philip as she weaved through the crowd to get to him.

"Boo!", she said suddenly, tapping her friends shoulder. His head whipped towards her and his smile grew, giving her a side hug.

"Hey Kitty!", he said in response. "Don't forget your detention today.", he reminded her. She gave him a slight nod before giving him a goodbye, as he did in return, before parting and heading to Mr. Emerson's room. The large crowd of students became a hand-full, scattered across the building. Rose quietly walked, her converse shoes not making a sound on the sleek floor. The halls seemed to be deserted with the lack of noise in a usual day. She stopped at the door of room 603. She looked back at the small slip to double-check the room number, to make sure she was at the right one. Rose learned that lesson the hard way. She peeked in the room and noticed that it was empty, yet the computer was still on. She quietly stepped inside and sat in a random desk. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and texted Philip.

'_Hey dude, im in mr. em's room and hes not even here yet, weird._', she typed in before pressing send. Footsteps sounded from down the empty hall. Rose quickly slipped her phone back in her pocket and pretended to play with her long chocolate colored hair.

"Ah, Rose! Thank you for coming.", a fairly deep, male voice said. She lifted her head and saw Mr. Emerson standing in front of her desk, leaning on the one behind him.

"Well, I kinda _had_ to, I don't want an ISS or anything.", she said in a tone a bit more cocky than she planned for. The tall teacher crossed his arms and looked down at the girl in her desk.

"Rosalina,", she flinched a little at the sound of her full name. "do you know why you are here?"

"Yeah, 'cause I was late for class."

"No, no, my student. Why do you think you are _here_?", he repeated, emphasizing his original point. Rose looked at the crumpled note in her hands, trying to think. "No need to fret about the thought, I plan to explain it to you."

"Alright...?", she responded, still utterly confused by the question.

"I simply wish to give you an opportunity, that is hard to pass up." The girl tilted her head to the left, curious now, to what he has to say. "Have you ever heard of Captain America?"

"You mean, the dude from, like, the 40's?" The man nodded and continued.

"He wasn't always big and strong, like you know him as. He used to be small, frail, and scrawny; yet his dream was to be a soldier and defend the U.S."

"What exactly does this have to do with me?", she said impatiently. Mr. Emerson held up a finger to quiet the student.

"He was offered a chance. That chance was called the 'Super Soldier Serum'. Many years after Captain America had gone missing, a man by the name of Dr. Bruce Banner has tried his hardest to remake the serum in order to help the weak. A project of his was recently re-discovered... and is now being offered to you."

"Me? What does it do?", she said with many more questions in her head.

"The serum will enhance you, all of you. Strength, agility, flexibility, stamina, anything you can think of! You will become better. And all you have to do is lay on a table."

"Where and when would this all happen?"

"Near a small city in New Mexico, and if you say yes, tomorrow. We will pay for all your expenses and everything you miss in school will be excused."

"Could I bring someone along?"

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Philip Schutt."

"Only if you say yes." The chance was on the table. Rose had always hated how weak she was. Her life would change forever...for the better. Her brown eyes stared at her pale hands. She gave a deep sigh and looked back up at the man.

"What time you pickin' me up, teach?" Mr. Emerson's smile grew wide.

"10:00 a.m. You have to be well rested.", he said with his smile still plastered to his face.

"I'll tell Philip.", she said with a smile on her face as well.

"Then you are dismissed Ms. Kindle." Rose stood up while grabbing her bag, giving the teacher a mock-salute before walking out the door. She grabbed her phone and called Philip immediately, explaining everything to him. He was excited for his good friend as well. The only downside she found to the situation is that she couldn't eat or drink for the next 24-hours. The next day was when he life was going to change.


End file.
